Walkers gear up for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event on Sunday

Thursday

Sep 24, 2009 at 12:01 AM

The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk will be held on Sunday from the DCR Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston. The walk, one of 21 such events taking place in New England, will have a staggered start between 8 and 10 a.m. Participants can take as long as they need to complete the 5.7 miles.

Vicki-Ann Downing

Wearing T-shirts to honor friends and family members lost to cancer, Ruby Phillips and her colleagues at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital are ready to walk in Boston.

The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk will be held on Sunday from the DCR Hatch Shell on the Esplanade.

The walk, one of 21 such events taking place in New England, will have a staggered start between 8 and 10 a.m. Participants can take as long as they need to complete the 5.7 miles.

Last year, 38,000 walkers in Boston raised $3.4 million to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Phillips, 44, of Brockton, who works in the hospital’s finance department, has walked with the hospital team for 11 years and is its captain this year.

“It’s wonderful,” Phillips said. “It’s so unbelievable. You see people coming together because they want to see this disease beaten. You feel if they find a cure for breast cancer, they’ll be able to find a cure for all cancer.”

The American Cancer Society provides a bus each year for the team and employees at Signature Healthcare fill it to its capacity of 47 passengers, Phillips said.

She sends e-mail notifications and employees respond. The hospital team raises between $4,000 and $5,000 each year, Phillips said.

They are spurred on by contests, such as friendly competitions to be the top fundraiser.

Phillips doesn’t hesitate when asked why she participates.

“I’ve lost a lot of people to cancer, so many people,” she said. “Within the last six years, I lost one of my best friends to cancer.”